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Vänskä returning to MN Orchestra

Osmo Vänskä is returning to the Minnesota Orchestra as music director, the orchestra's board of directors announced Thursday.

He will lead the orchestra for a minimum of 10 weeks for both the 2014-15 and 2015-16 seasons, and accept the same reduction in compensation as the musicians under terms of his new two-year agreement.

"I am very pleased to have this chance to rebuild the Vänskä/Minnesota Orchestra partnership, and I look forward to getting back to music-making with the players and together re-establishing our worldwide reputation for artistic excellence,” Vänskä said.

He resigned last fall after the symphony cancelled concerts planned for Carnegie Hall in New York City in early November because of the lockout.

Board Chair Gordon Sprenger said: “Osmo Vänskä led the Minnesota Orchestra to great heights during his previous tenure as music director, and we are happy to be able to reunite Osmo and the Orchestra to deliver outstanding musical performances for our community and to extend their celebrated musical partnership. We are delighted he is back.”

The musicians also offered a statement about Vänskä's return: “The musicians are truly excited by the board's decision to bring back Osmo as music director. This is a major step in rebuilding the trust and collaborative spirit within our organization as well as with our community. We very much look forward to further collaboration with Osmo, our Board, and our community to continue to build upon the Minnesota Orchestra's 110-year legacy of artistic excellence.”